DERBYSHIRE

The information on this page, and on the accompanying
Town & Parish pages is organised by the set of subject
headings which the LDS Family History Library use for categorising
genealogical research material. Below are the available headings for
Derbyshire; but see
How the information on this server is presented to the user for
further details, and for an overall list. [Hint: Press the "Back" arrow
on your browser's toolbar to return to this page after reading, as
there is no return link.]

Description in 1887

"DERBYSHIRE, midland county of England
[Map (above) shows location],
having Yorkshire on the north, Nottingham on the east, Leicestershire,
Warwickshire, and Staffordshire on the south and Staffordshire and
Cheshire on the west; length, north and south, 52 miles; greatest
breadth, 85 miles; average breadth, 20 miles; area, 658,624 acres;
pop. 461,914. The surface in the south is either flat or undulating,
irregular in the middle and NE., and picturesquely mountainous in the
NW. or Peak district. The principal rivers are the Trent, Derwent,
Dove, and Wye; river communication is supplemented by the Erewash and
Grand Trunk Canals. The road and railway systems are highly
developed. The soil in the Vale of the Trent is alluvial and very
productive. In the hilly districts the land is mostly in pasture;
much of it is rocky and unproductive. Oats, barley, potatoes, and
wheat are cultivated; and there are many excellent dairy-farms. Warm
mineral springs are numerous, the most popular being those at Buxton,
Matlock, and Bakewell. Coal is abundant; iron ore and lead are
worked; among the other mineral products are zinc, manganese, and
barytes. There are numerous and extensive quarries of limestone and
marble; fluor-spar is found in the caverns, and is manufactured into
a great variety of ornamental articles. Silk, cotton, and lace are
the chief manufactures, but malting and brewing are also carried on,
and there are some extensive iron foundries."
[Extract from Bartholemew's Gazetteer of the British Isles, 1887]

Volunteers are being sought to help to transcribe the 1891 Census for Derbyshire, to make the whole part of
a free searchable database online. Visit the FreeCEN web site for more details, and if you'd like to volunteer.

Sheffield General Cemetery
database - 80,000+ entries, for which details may include place of birth,
and in one instance I noticed of someone born in Derbyshire, a reference
to maiden surname... Choose 'Resources' from the left menu, scroll down to
'burial details' and click on 'the first 6000 burials', from which you can either
list them chronologically or use the brilliant, and very fast search engine.
Added 1 Apr 2006.

Subtitled ‘The Church of England in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire,
1911-1915’, this book is an account of Edwyn Hoskins, Bishop
of Southwell's parochial visitation of the diocese between 1911 and 1915.

Tomkins, Rodney -
Derbyshire Churches & Chapels Open to Visitors.
Covers over 200 places of worship in Derbyshire.
The content is available online at
www.derbyshirechurches.org.uk - a very attractive Website, built by
Rev. Clive Thrower, Derby Diocese Tourism Officer.

Note on using IGI Batch Numbers:
It is not always easy to locate your ancestors in the IGI using the search mechanisms provided at
the above LDS site. Manually typing the batch numbers into the IGI search screen can be tedious.
Hugh Wallis has made an exhaustive search of the likely ranges of batch numbers and created a
database of those numbers and the source records that they apply to. A very powerful feature included
is a hotlink from each batch number to the actual search engine provided at the Family Search site,
including the ability to enter the surname you are looking for. This makes it very easy to search all the
batches for a particular geographic location using just the last name you are searching for - something
that is not possible directly from the LDS site without doing a lot of typing. This is
Hugh Wallis's site.

The searchable database of GenoGold
contains a growing number of Michael SPENCER's transcriptions of various
Derbyshire Parish Records (mostly burials).

Search Derbyshire Record Office's archive collections online via
their web-site at
www.derbyshire.gov.uk/leisure/record_office/. Or download PDF documents
to view offline - as well as providing essential background information for research,
the guides also provides covering dates for Church of England, Non-Conformist,
and Cemetery Registers held at the DRO.

A list of Stray Marriages in Winster (marriages where one
or both parties were not of the parish) is available on Dawn Scotting's
All Things Winster blogspot - parties are from all over Derbyshire.

Civil Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths in England and Wales
began on July 1st 1837. Copies of certificates may be obtained from either
the General Register Office (GRO), or from a Superintendent's Registrar's Office
of the District at which the event was first registered. If the District no longer
exists, this would be the Office to which its registers have been moved.

Obtaining a certificate from a Superintendent Registrar's Office.

The original records of events, completed by the Registrar of the time, have
always been retained by the District Registrar. In Derbyshire, these records are
currently held in seven different locations within the county, and in the past an application
would be made to the Superintendent Registrar at one of these locations to search the
local indexes he or she holds to the registers, and produce a certificated copy from
the original record of the event. However in recent years, volunteers have been transcribing
these records, and it may be possible to find details for yourself by searching
an index to the records online.

Details of Local Register Offices to contact are on
the above site, and a complete list of all districts may be found
in Brett Langston's list of
Derbyshire Registration Districts (1837-1974).
The details required for such a request are name and surname, the event type
(ie birth, marriage or death), and the year the event took place, and a search will
be made of 5 years either side of that year, if an entry for that year isn't found.

Obtaining a certifcate from the GRO

Certificates from the GRO are issued from copies of the original records;
however there is considerable advantage in being able to search indexes to the
whole country in one place, so many people prefer to do this, rather than risk a
protracted search locally. The first step is to obtain a GRO reference to the event.
You can then order certificates online via the Certificate Ordering Service of the
General Register Office website.
From 6th April 2010, the cost of a certificate obtained this way is £9.25.

You can obtain a GRO reference in several ways:-

Searching microfilm or fiche at a Library or LDS Family History Centre.

FreeBMD is an ongoing project to make the General
Register Office (GRO) Indexes freely available online. More volunteers are needed and details of how you can help are available on-site.

The images are also available on Ancestry.co.uk for which
a subscription provides access to a wide range of other records.

Obtaining a certificate for a recent event

The cost of a certificates issued at the time of registration of a current birth, death
or marriage is £3.50 for each copy.

After registration (for instance, the following day) the cost is £7.00, providing
the register is still current (within 28 days of the last entry in the register)

After a registration book is complete, 28 days later, the register is deposited with the
Superintendent Registrar of the district. From that point onwards, applications should
be made to the appropriate district office, and certificates will cost the same as any
'old' certificate obtained locally - £9.00.

The Prison Service Museum near Rugby houses HM Prison Service's historical
collection of exhibits, illustrating the history of imprisonment from medieval times
to the present day. Housed in a converted stable block, the museum contains
reconstructions of Victorian prison architecture, and exhibits include the
last set of Gibbet Irons used in England. Smaller items include bone
carvings and paintings made by prisoners in their cells, and a nineteenth
century sampler embroidered by a female prisoner from her own hair

Admission to the museum is by appointment only, please contact:-

The Curator,
HM Prison Service Museum,
Newbold Revel,
Rugby CV23 0TH

[Information compiled from "The Penal Lexicon Home Page",
formerly at www.penlex.org.uk/pages/index.html.]

The Geograph British Isles project -
"aims to collect geographically representative photographs and information
for every square kilometre of the UK and the Republic of Ireland..."
Added 16 Jun 2007.

Picture the Past -
project being managed by Derbyshire County Council to digitise thousands
of historic images from Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, some as early as.1850.

Discover Derbyshire
and the Peak District - site featuring a walk-through of
20 Peak District towns and villages, with an emphasis on local history. Whilst I
haven't explored it fully mself yet, of the villages I looked at, all the salient aspects
of local folklore appear to be covered, and with more to be added over the coming
months. I can fully recommend this attractive, and well presented site.

Derbyshire UK
has descriptions and photographs of many towns and villages in Derbyshire,
and provides a wide range of information about other aspects of
the county.

Hedgerow Publishing are selling high quality goods
featuring scenes in Sheffield, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire.
Their Nostalgic Prints are of particular interest.

A Website for the Peak District.
(Cressbrook Multimedia). Provides useful information for visitors,
featuring on individual Towns and Villages in the
Peak District, and including maps and photographs.

The transcription of the section for Miscellaneous Descriptions from
the National Gazetteer (1868) provided by Colin Hinson. Included
here are the descriptions of major topological features (rivers, hills &c.)
and a descriptions of the county hundred divisions.

The GENUKI Gazetteer covers the whole of England, Wales and Scotland and can be searched by
place-name (or part of a place-name) or Ordnance Survey Grid Reference (six-figure, eg SK350350).
If there are multiple place-names matching the name you enter, you will be presented initially with a
drop-down list of the matching place-names, and (when known), their nearest identifiable place.

Ann Andrews' website
The Andrews Pages, whilst focussing primarily on Matlock and Matlock Bath
has a great deal of more general interest, including many transcriptions of Directories and
Census, and a growing
Derbyshire Picture Gallery.

John Palmer's Wirksworth Parish Records
site. A host of transcriptions (parish registers, MIs, Census, etc.) covering an area of
40 square miles around Wirksworth.

Peak District Landscapes -
a study of the Peak District from prehistory to the present, with some
interesting 'TimeLines'. It also has some genealogy content, as
amongst its 'Frequently Asked Questions' is an answer to their #12,
'Do people from Biddulph Moor have Arab ancestors?'.

English Heritage Viewfinder - site with historic photographs,
searchable by county. Has some unusual ones of the Industrial
Age which won't be found amongst the more usual postcard collections!.

The Francis Frith Collection - a collection of
over 700,000 photographs of the UK, Europe and the Middle East taken by the
Victorian photographer Francis Frith.

A Vision of Britain Through Time -
information about your home area from the 2001 census, and from each British
census back to 1801. Presented both as maps of the whole country and as graphs
showing change over time.

A digital library of medieval and modern sources of the history of the British Isles -
British History Online.
Notable sources include Journals of the House of Commons and House of
Lords, Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae, and the Victoria County History.
Added 14 Oct 2005.

Peakland Heritage,
a wonderful new (as of March 2002) site provided by Derbyshire's Libraries &
Heritage Department, the British Library and Peak District National Park
Authority. A MUST to visit for background research material - has many
mentions of individuals who achieved fame in their own modest ways, and
provides insights into work and pastimes of days gone by.

The Domesday Book Online
"to enable visitors to find out the history of the Domesday Book and to
give an insight into life at the time of its compilation". Note this site does not
provide the original text, but does include a list settlements existing in 1086.

The Wolley Manuscripts for all Derbyshire.
Abstracts from this superb collection of pre 1828 Documents have been
transcribed by Ann Andrews from articles written by Rev. Charles
J. Cox, LL.D., F.S.A. and published in the Journals of the Derbyshire
Archaeological and Natural History Society. Many
places, people and relationships are mentioned - an absolute
"MUST" to visit! Full details, and explanation,
are available on Ann's site.

Pat Johnson has a large collection of original
Family Deeds. Abstracts, with name and parish indexes are provided onsite,
with transcriptions of the full documents available for a modest fee. In addtion, the original
deed may also be available for purchase if required. Added 19 Sep 2007.

Mike Durtnall is providing a country-wide collection of
Historical Manuscripts
Pages recording details of deeds that have been offered for sale on eBay
and in auction catalogues. In most cases whereabouts of the documents will be
unknown, but sufficient details of the property involved and of buyers, sellers,
mortages, &c. is provided to make them a useful research tool.
Added 9 Mar 2007.

Details of a selection of leases relating to 17th century property rental
(cottages and land) may be found amongst Catalogue of Leases from the
Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire estates of the Dukes of Portland
(PI E12/8) available as part of the
University
of Nottingham Manuscripts Online Catalogue.

British
History Online - Ordnance Survey 1:10,560 Maps -
The County Series of Ordnance Survey maps for Great Britain.
Begun in 1840, this is the first comprehensive historic mapping of
England, Scotland and Wales. Added 11 Mar 2009.

The above Genmaps Links pages lists
Great Britain - Medieval Maps, which in turn provides several maps
including an intriguing
Ecclesiastical Map of the British Isles in the Middle Ages,
which shows the principal Monasteries, demonstrating some of the
earliest centres of habitation and influence.

Detailed Maps of the area you may be interested in Derbyshire
are viewable at the
UK Street Map Page.
The site provides a most useful service, with superb address searching
and street map facilities for anywhere in mainland Great Britain.

Medical Heritage of Great Britain,
a site produced by the Bath & Wessex Medical History Group,
providing detailed information on a county level of the history of medical
treatments, and locations of some associated buildings.

A very comprehensive site featuring Castles and Fortifications -
CastleUK.net.

The Age of Nelson - a
website providing general information about the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic
Wars 1793-1815, and specifically searchable databases of those present at
Trafalgar (and more) and of all Commissioned Naval Officers 1787-1822.

Chesterfield Sherwoods on the Somme A site commemorating the men of Chesterfield and surrounding districts of North Derbyshire who died during the Battle of the Somme. A very evocative, and thought provoking site, which warrants a study in depth.

Lists of some Derbyshire Lead Miners may be found in a
Petition of miners of Derbyshire to the House of Commons for relief
from the tax on lead, PRO Ref: E101/280/18. This was a petition to
the Long Parliament in 1641 or 1642 to reduce the tax on lead from 48
shillings to 28 shillings per fother. It lists by name miners in the lead
mining townships of the Hundred of High Peak, the Wapentake of
Wirksworth and the townships of Crich and of Ecton in Staffordshire.
The list of about 1900 names is almost complete, being slightly damaged
for Castleton, Hope, Youlgreave and Stanton. By the name of each miner
is the number of his dependants and servants. The Derbyshire Record
Office have a handwritten transcription - DRO Ref: D3504/1/1-2.

The same bundle, DRO Ref: D3504/1/1-2, also contains a handwritten
transcription of the 1642 Protestation Return, a document in the House of
Lords Record Office in the Main Papers for Feb 26 1642. The townships included
are Tideswell, Monyash, Bakewell, Sheldon, Birchill, Rowsley, Overhaddon,
Ashford, Longsden [sic], Baslow, Taddington, Beeley, Hope and Castleton.
I am indebted to Lynn Burnet for this, and the previous item of information.

Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section:
Indexes to parish returns towards the rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral, ca.1678,
with their Library Reference numbers. The returns themselves, which
need to be consulted by personal visit, promise to be useful, as a record
of those individuals who contributed, and in a number of instances those
who did not. A number of the returns indicate status of the contributors,
e.g. widow, or servant.

If you get a chance to visit the Peak District of Derbyshire, look for
a copy of
The Peak Advertiser, available at Post Offices, and
local village shops, free of charge. Although this is a free advertising
newspaper, each issue usually contains one or more local history
articles, a family walks feature, and on the back page "What's in
a Name" in which the author offers his own unique insight into
the meaning behind readers' surnames. Website link added 20 Jan 2007.

Derbyshire in Nottingham Newspapers 1714-1776 -
"Researchers using What the Papers Said ... will have at
their fingertips full and accurate transcriptions of significant references
without need to consult the original newspapers"...

The Newspaper Library at Colindale - my current information (October 2007) is
that the BL is going to close Colindale, transferring its archives to Boston Spa.
Newspapers will be viewable on film only at the British Library, until such time as
their holdings are digitised.

The Burton Daily Mail and associated publications cover large parts of the county,
particularly South Derbyshire.

Photographers and Photographic Studios of Derbyshire - a site created by Brett
Payne, provides an index of Derbyshire Photographers, mainly from trade directories,
together with biographies of selected photographers, also plenty of hints and tips for
dating old family photographs. There is already a substantial collection of examples from
the various studios; however further contributions of images are always welcome to this
ever-growing collection.

Michael Spencer is providing details of a large number of Settlement
Certificates, Removal Orders, &c. of Derbyshire folk - see
Yesterday's Journey. Added 11 Dec 2007.

Board of Guardians 1837-51. Lists of names of those who
were examined as being in need of poor relief, transcribed by
Michael Spencer. Covers Poor Law Unions of Bakewell, Belper,
Shardlow, Hayfield, Ashbourne and Chesterfield. The records
for Derby Union have been lost.

A site "dedicated to the Workhouse - its buildings,
its inmates, its staff and administrators, and even its poets..." -
The Workhouse -
created by Peter Higginbotham.

The Derbyshire Papist Returns of 1705-6,
Edited by Richard Clark. 1983. provides a detailed list of the names
of Papists, or those of the Catholic faith, together with their estimated
wealth of their property, their occupations, and any
ecclesiastical patronage they received.

Although recusancy in Derbyshire was concentrated in a small
number of parishes, virtually all parishes made a return for the
two years in question, although for most the return is Nil. The
parishes featuring a large concentration usually had the common
factor of a member of the Catholic gentry living there, or
possessing large estates. For instance, Ashbourne had the Pegges &
Whitehalls; Hassop, the Eyres; Barlborough & Eckington, the
Poles; Norbury, the Fitzherberts; West Hallam & Wingerworth, the
Hunlokes.

Tideswell, Wormhill and Hathersage are the exceptions, where the
origins of Catholicism can be traced back to influence of Catholic
gentry during Elizabeth I's reign. In Tideswell, these were
Bishop Robert PURSGLOVE (c1503-1580), and William
FIELDSEND (the rector between 1551 and 1576); in the case of
Hathersage, the EYRE and FITZHERBERT families.

Mother Bedford -
"a website devoted primarily to the history of Old-Bedford County,
Pennsylvania during the American Revolutionary War period" -
a fascinating site including items of general historical interest eg:

Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516 - The Gazetteer, compiled by Dr Samantha Letters is a catalogue of Markets and Fairs in Medieval England and Wales. First comprehensive National Survey, with detailed information about grants of Charters to all Market Towns. Mentions some names of grantees - eg for Bakewell, "John (Gernoun, kn) successfully claimed that he and his ancestors had held the fair from time out of mind".

The E 179 Database
(on the National Archives website) contains detailed information about over
26,000 documents relating to the taxation of lay people in England and Wales
between c.1200 and c.1700. These documents are likely to contain many names.

The Hearth Tax, popularly referred to as "Chimney Money"
was introduced in 1662 but presumably like our 1980s Poll Tax, it was not a
popular form of taxation, as by 1689 it was withdrawn. However, for
the purposes of genealogical research the returns provide a unique
"head count" and assessment of the social status of one's
ancestors - the more hearths they paid taxes for, the larger the house
they lived in. The Hearth Tax Assessments have been transcribed for
Derbyshire, and are published by the Derbyshire Record Society.

Marjorie WARD has transcribed A Copy of a Poll taken for the County of Derby
The 16th, 17th, 18th and 20th days of May 1734 to include
Voters in Bowden Middlecale & district and
Voters in Other areas of (North) Derbyshire. Her transcription also lists where the Freehold land
which made the Voter eligible was situated (this was not necessarily the place where he lived)
and for which of the three candidates he voted (Lord Charles Cavendish,
Sir Nathaniel Curzon Bart. or Henry Harpur Esq.)

This county is maintained by
Louis R. Mills with help and information
provided by a number of other volunteers.

GENUKI contains many hyperlinks and directives to sites developed by others. They are provided for
your convenience only. We do not control nor guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or
completeness of such sites, and in the event of a link to such a site being 'broken', or otherwise
unavailable, our only recourse is to remove that link.